Huge thank you to formerimpactgrad and Catbus for the information in this quoted part of this post. I have my wife in the middle of the summit "training" and she has been very hard to communicate with in any capacity. Is there anyone here that has some more details on what happens during the summit class? I need to know what to expect when she comes home from this. I am grateful to anyone that can help. I have read through most of this thread as well as others on the internet and the secretive nature of these "trainings" is what worries me the most. Thank you in advance.

formerimpactgrad Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> Catbus,>> In response to your earlier questions here is a> very rough (and unfortunately short) schedule for> Quest and Summit that should line up with your> wife's manic-depressive mood swings:>> Quest:>> Day 1 - The trainees spend the entire day getting> chewed out. There are several processes but the> end result of each one is that the group and> certain individuals get chewed out over and over> and over. I'll leave it open for others to fill> in the specific processes, if they so desire, but> since the end result of all of them is the same on> this day I see little reason to distinguish one> from another.>> Day 2 - Much like Day 1 the string of lectures and> processes has the intended result of tearing apart> the trainees. This day ends with the "Feedback> Arcs" exercise that most trainees seem to remember> as the low point in Quest and the Impact Trainings> as a whole (unless they move on to the TIT series> and watch people flush their whole lives down the> toilet because they want to act like children,> that was the most depressing part for me).>> Day 3 - Begins with a few hours of open mike where> most trainees say something like, "I couldn't> sleep last night because..." or "Last night was> the worst night of my life because...". A few> songs are played and several lectures are given to> move the group into a frame of mind suitable for> the chair beating exercise. The chair beating> leads into the "Inner Child" phase which leads to> dancing, running and finally horrific singing at> the end of the day. Everybody leaves with smiles> on their faces ready to return for the final day> of Quest.>> Day 4 - Begins with several lectures on God and> sometimes Hans makes a ridiculous claim or two> (like his assertion that it was the TIT 3 group's> use of the violet flame that stopped the Show Low,> AZ wild fires. Thank you AZ fire departments for> risking your lives but apparently you were not> needed after all...). The day ends with a> hard-sell summit enrollment exercise and finally> graduation.>>> Summit:>> Day 1 - Much like the beginning of Quest, Summit's> initial exercises are all about tearing down the> group. Several small group exercises are used to> gather intensely personal and sensitive> information about the trainees then this> information is used in an exercise later on to> assign condescending nicknames that the trainees> are required to use when referring to others and> themselves (For example, a woman who admits to> being sexually abused by a family member might end> up with the nickname "Daddy's Joy Toy"). The day> ends with the lifeboat exercise where the trainees> leave after experiencing the joy of visualizing> their own deaths.>> Day 2 - Like Day 3 of Quest, this day starts low> then builds toward the "Katharsis" process (which> is essentially the chair beating exercise on> steroids). From there the inner children are> brought back and trainees come up with their> "contracts", Pamela dances, the staff dances and> the "People Don't Change" lecture is offered as> gospel. At the end of this day the trainees are> given stretches (essentially skits intended to> allow the trainees to express something about> themselves, for example a group of heavyset women> will have to dress and behave as cows then> transform into 10 tons of crazy belly dancing).>> Day 3 - Stretch Day. Trainees show up in costume> and dance. Everyone performs their skits and the> day ends with the feast and footwashing> exercises.>> Day 4 - I honestly don't remember much from this> day except for the hard-sell lift off exercise and> graduation.>>>>> Anyway, hope this makes the pieces fit for you> Catbus!

As described by Catbus, Summit is even more emotional and mind-bending than Quest. It feeds on the trainees deepest secrets and insecurities. It's no wonder your wife is being illusive and uncommunicative. Catbus covered the major "processes" in Summit. Life boat, especially difficult because you are asked to vote people in the group on or off the theoretical boat. You are only given a certain number of positive votes so there is a lot of pressure to pick the "right" person to put on the life boat. Only those with the most votes at the end of the process actually get saved. However, but the final end of the process everyone sinks, otherwise the trainees might get a superiority complex. The first night is really rough and difficult because they put you in this state of mind that makes you think you're not worth very much.

Then, on the second day, you are asked to "confess" all of your burdens and hurt and harm and regrets to others in the group. The other group members help you "relive" your most painful experiences. I've seen funeral re-enacted, people getting revenge on abusive relationships, even people looking in mirrors to re-enact the punishment they put on themselves. This process goes on for a couple of hours and it is altogether terrible. After all of the catharsis, the trainees are put into small groups and given a "stretch". The groups include things like cows because belly dancers, overly tough muscle men becoming super heroes, "bitchy" women becoming ladies in red, cry babies because cindy lauper, etc. The trainees are asked to come back the next day ready to act out their transformation.

Friday, the trainees meet in their small groups to plan and buy things for the stretch. Stretches typically last 3-4 hours. At the end of the process, the trainees are released of the "nerd" names they were given on the first day (Mormon Mess-up, Daddy's Joy Toy, etc.) and walked through a process where they "discover" their vision statement and mission. When your wife comes home and starts having you ask "who are you" and "why are you here" It's because she gone through this "empowerment" process. After the dinner break, the trainees come back to a "abundance" table full of different fruits, cheeses, and crackers. The trainees are not allowed to feed themselves, they have to be fed by a buddy. The buddy also washes their feet in honor of the purity and royalty that is embedded in each of us that we can discover and live if we only leave behind the nerd self. Some light massage is also involved in this process.

The trainees leave that night to enter a "hug tunnel" created by graduated friends, families, other random graduates who want to attend. The trainees are not allowed to talk for something like 2 hours after training lets out so that they go through the whole tunnel without verbally speaking. The whole idea is that they're only supposed to be communicating with the other graduates on a soul level.

Saturday is full of a bunch of weird, unremarkable processes. They involve concepts such as those proposed in the book "The Little Soul and the Sun". It's a lot of victim blaming by saying the only reason anything bad happens to us is because we react poorly to the situation instead of choosing to learn from it. And of course the day ends with a hard sell to Lift-off and an enrollment challenge for others into quest. Finally graduation at the end of the day.

Summit is a great opportunity for you to start asking your wife some questions. Things like, "you don't have to reveal any of the processes of your training to me, but I can tell that you are going through a lot right now. I just have a small question for you, if someone outside of the training room were asking you the same questions or telling you the same things, how would you react? What would you think of those questions? Why is it ok for the trainers to treat you with disrespect when you wouldn't allow that from anyone else in your life?" You could also remind her that the training staff does not have any true experience in psychology or professional mental health. It may seem like a long journey, but do your best to plant small ideas like this and keep your wife looking at things logically and maybe eventually she'll see the flaws in the logic of the training.

Oooh, another good one is that the training always asks the training to "be their word". Are there times the training staff take exception to this rule by starting trainings late or by treating people with disrespect. If you can plant that ideas she may start recognizing just how often this happens.

Life Off is even worse. Each training gets worse. For the trainees, they feel it's them getting better with each "graduation". It's gross and so sad for them. They are brainwashed.

I started in 2006 and left in 2009. I went through Quest, Summit, Lift Off, Inner Woman 1 and Inner Woman 2. I almost signed up for the higher trainings but was lucky enough to see the truth while staffing (volunteering as a staff member who yells at the trainees) a Summit Training. That is a long story. But, most of the leaders of this nasty cult are criminals with a record including sex abuse of children, in an extreme amount of debt (millions of dollars) and are so fake. The fancy cars, clothes and houses they have are all for show so that they can "prove that you can have what you want if you just put it out there into the universe." Just a load of bull!

Because of Impact, I lost my family and most of my friends as I had turned into an arrogant, judgmental brat! I saw myself as better than everyone else because I had gone through these trainings. No one wanted to be around me anymore because of how treated them.

Lift Off is broken up into 5 weekends. I can't remember exactly off the top of my head what they all are but it's all full of guided meditations, lectures, some catharsis, an off-site ropes course, etc. I would say that out of all of my time at Impact, the only "training" I found useful was the ropes course as it does provide some insight into who you are and helps in conquering some fears. I remember having to come up with so much money for each training and on top of that all the donations, eating out, travel, etc. I was a poor college student living on her own and I paid for these trainings instead of my car payment and utilities just to afford it.

Those of us who have left and been able to get help, refer to Impact as Scientology Lite. It's very similar to Scientology but on a smaller scale. When I left, I was harassed at home, at work and my family was harassed all by the staff there. I had voicemails from Hans himself threatening me. One of their trainees whom I befriended, tortured and killed one of my dogs, then tortured my other one but she survived (and is still alive today). It was all over the news. Impacts response to me was "you put it out there for this to happen and to press charges instead of loving him through this hard time is heartless. What role did you play in this to cause this to happen?" I was absolutely appalled and confused. They had opened their arms up to the man who had hurt my dogs but shut me out because I had pressed charges. I was in the wrong, but the dog murdered was in the right. That is how sick these people are!!

If you have a family member or friend who is in Impact, do everything you can to love them and support them, but get them out! It took me years of therapy, a 2 week hospital stay a few years ago and A LOT of support to decondition my brain from all of the brainwashing. 8 years later, I'm happy to say that I've got my family and friends back, plus some. But it took a lot of hard work and proof that I am no longer associated with Impact. I had to start all over again with everything and everyone. I'm just now being able to start college and I'm in my mid 30s. It was not easy. Get your loved ones out of there and be careful! I'm happy to go back through some of my old notes of mine if it will help you at all. Private message me on here and please don't be afraid to ask any of us questions.

Hey everybody, I’m new here and thought I’d share my experience of Impact Trainings. I attended Quest in August of last year because my now ex-girlfriend wanted me to go. Honestly, if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have gone. I had a slight idea of the kinds of things that happened at this place but was way too caught up in my feelings for her. I’m LDS and she isn’t so I thought if I invested some time in something she was interested in (Impact) then she would consider going to church with me… (lol, little did I know). Honestly, after my experience at Quest, I can say I have never seen anything like it before, so the manipulation totally caught me off guard. Immediately at the beginning the trainer, Justin, projected an authoritarian figure and seemed to place an iron grasp on the trainees. I have really bad anxiety, so this freaked me out. Any opposition was crushed or you got degraded until you submit, or you get kicked out. I think it’s ironic that Justin talks about unconditional love in the Quest training, he lashes out with so much hatred and anger.After Quest I was a totally brainwashed. I felt so strange, and I started doubting my faith. I started experiencing major cognitive dissonance and had a nervous breakdown of sorts. My experience, (coupled with anxiety) was the most traumatic of my life. I don’t understand how anyone can think that yelling at people and degrading them is a form of self-help therapy. These trainings are self-destruction therapy, which isn’t a therapy at all. How can people think Impact is a good thing? This place is the devil’s playground. It’s no wonder the First Presidency has told us to stay away from these kinds of places. Passing through Quest was an extremely painful experience, and the psychological harm Impact causes takes a lot of time to heal from. More people need to see this place for what it really is, and that starts with USING YOUR HEAD. Impact preaches to stop using you head, this is just so the trainees can be brainwashed more easily. I’ve realized something now; Quest is designed to create a predictable response in the trainee so they will sign up for Summit, thus creating the next cash flow to Impact. This place is a business and puts money first, not people - If they did put people first then there would be no Impact Trainings. I posted a review of Impact on google reviews with included one of the First Presidency’s statements about self-awareness groups as well as my own brief review of Impact. I thought it was interesting that almost right after I made my post there was a flood of five star reviews, (probably to combat my one star review of Impact). It is beyond me how people can see Impact as a good thing, whether or not you are LDS. These trainings are very mentally damaging and extremely traumatic. Shortly after Impact I opened the Book of Mormon to read one day and opened to the book of Helaman which I wasn’t reading in at the time. My eyes scanned over Helaman 13: 25-29 which talked about real prophets and false prophets. I found it interesting that the description of false prophets described Justin very well.I’m glad I found this website; it has helped me because I know I’m not alone in what I had to go through. As for my girlfriend, she dumped me on Quest graduation night… go figure. I’ve done some reading and learned that Impact puts a lot of pressure on staff members to recruit more people to Impact. I’ve wondered if that was why she waited until after Quest to end the relationship, so my feelings for her would increase the likelihood she could recruit me to Impact. I’m not sure about it though. Oh well, that’s life. I’ve forgiven her whether or not she used me though; I know how tight the hold is that Impact can have on people’s minds. Now I need to forgive Impact and myself for allowing myself to get pulled into these trainings. But honestly, more people need to see this place for what it really is. I’ve done a lot of reading about Impact and the later trainings which I will not be attending and it’s really obvious that these trainings are not coming from a good source. It’s no wonder the First Presidency has counseled us to stay away from these places. If you or a loved one has been hurt by these trainings, I highly recommend you say something about it on Google reviews, on this cult education website, etc. If people who have been hurt by these trainings speak out about it, then others could be spared the suffering and deception of these trainings. If we don’t say something, then Impact will continue to take advantage of desperate people with no opposition. People need to be warned.

Right on Wulfenar! Your report on Impact gets a big "amen" from me and I'm sure thousands of others. Impact suffered a big economic reversal by the recession of 2008. They have expansion ambitions again as evidenced by initiatives in St. George and Boise. May truth prevail.